Need help with an IPA hop schedule
 

Hey all,

Making an IPA this weekend and want to make a hop schedule with the hops i have available.

Here is the recipe:

Batch: 5.5 g
SG: 1.063

12# US 2-row
1# crystal 20L
12oz Vienna

WLP001

I have 4 oz cascade pellets, 2 oz centennial and 1 oz Northern brewer. Not looking to use them all, prob just cascade + centennial. Going for a light crisp balanced ipa with a lot of aroma flavor. Any input on schedule?

1oz cent @60
1oz cascade @20
.5oz cascade @10
.5oz cascade @fo

Dry hop one oz each


Or

1oz nb @60
1oz cascade @ 30
.5oz cascade @15/fo

1oz cascade dry hop

You threw me off at the term "balanced ipa". That's an oxymoron.

But yeah, if you want more bitterness, use more early hops. If you want more aroma, use more very late additions and dryhops.

I would bitter with NB to be honest. Let the Centennial & Cascade combo shine. Seven oz. total hops, including the dryhop, is pretty standard for a 5 gallon batch of AIPA, so it's not like you're pushing it. Especially if you want decent aroma.

Get 20-30 IBUs with NB @ 60 Minutes
1.5-2.0 oz. C hops at 10 Minutes
1.5-2.0 oz. C hops at 0 Minutes
2.0-3.0 oz. dryhop with C hops for 7 days


For light/crisp I would mash low, like 149-151 F. And be sure to check your water chemistry and add minerals such as Gypsum & Calcium Chloride as needed. Adequate levels of Sulfate especially can really make the hops pop.

If you prefer less of a harsh bitterness try first wort hopping I love it here is what I would do should give 65 IBU

1 oz NB at 60 minute
.5 oz cascade First Wort
.25 centential First Wort
.5 cascade 20 minute
.5 centential 20 minute
.5 cascade 7 minute
.5 centenial 7 minute

Save the rest for Dry hopping, just use a hop bag

1.75 oz. hops early w/another 1 oz. at 20 will not be less bitter than 0.75 to 1 oz. at 60 and then nothing else until 10 min. left in the boil. Plus, you'll have less hop aroma with the former method.

...And you don't need a bag for dryhopping unless you're planning on washing your yeast or dryhopping directly in the keg.

First wort hopping is different than hopping at 60 minutes at start of the boil. Hops at 60 minute boil provide bitterness only. First wort hopping gives you flavor and aroma.

I usually do 30% of total IBU for First wort hopping then 50% for bittering at start of boil then distribute the rest at end of boil.

I do this because i like smooth non harsh bitterness with lots of flavor

I know what FWH hopping does. Very familiar. But doing a 1.75 oz. bittering + FWH hop combo will not result in lower actual or perceived bitterness than 1.00 oz. or less hops added as a simple bittering addition.

There are other methods than FWH to attain a smooth bitterness, that also involve using fewer hops. Using very small charges of a low cohumulone hop at 60/30 is one example.

All hop additions give you flavor to some extent, but FWH or other earlier additions do not give you a ton of aroma... Late additions and dryhops do.

And FWH does not give you any more flavor (or aroma) than a simple bittering addition would. In both cases, those volatile aromatic compounds are still being boiled off for an hour or more. Even if you could sense it, late hopping and dryhop additions cover up the miniscule amount of flavor offered by these earlier additions. An exception would be the insanely huge 90 min bittering addition + large 45 and 30 minute additions that Russian River's Pliny the Elder uses.

so you get the same effect using a lot of late flavor aditions as you do with first wort hopping?

No. I never said that. FWH is definitely not a replacement for late hop additions.

But FWH dont add flavor?